


epilogue

by nettlestingsoup



Series: to fly and to fall [5]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Fallen Angels, Fluff, Happy Ending, M/M, Three Years Later, chan pov, this really is just fluff i can't tag it any other way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:00:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26061562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nettlestingsoup/pseuds/nettlestingsoup
Summary: A final note in the story of four angels, and the humans their lives became intertwined with.
Relationships: Bang Chan/Kim Woojin, Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Hwang Hyunjin/Kim Seungmin/Yang Jeongin | I.N, Lee Felix/Seo Changbin
Series: to fly and to fall [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1748986
Comments: 20
Kudos: 58





	epilogue

**Author's Note:**

> Here it is! A very short happy ending. Thank you to the people who encouraged me to write an epilogue, it was nice to tie everything together!
> 
> Thank you again to anyone who read this series; I hope I've given you something that you've enjoyed reading (or rereading).
> 
> I'll be back in September with something considerably shorter than this (it's completely insane to me that I hit 125k words on this au???) so I'll see you then! I hope you enjoy this final look into the lives of the characters of this story.
> 
> Much love, Nettle <3

Chan sighed happily as he sat on the grass in the park, face upturned towards the evening sun. He’d intended to help the others in finishing the preparations for their little party, but Woojin had not-so-subtly hinted that he should sit down and rest.

"The shop was busy yesterday," he pointed out. "You were on your feet all day. We can do the rest."

"Yup!" Minho had agreed, pushing down on Chan’s shoulders with surprising strength until his knees gave way. "Felix won’t forgive us if you pass out at his engagement party. Jisung, make sure he stays sitting down."

"Is that your way of making sure I sit down too?" Jisung had asked, smiling slightly, and Minho had grinned at him.

"Yes," he’d confirmed. "It is. So sit. Play something for us."

So there Chan was, letting the sun warm his face, listening to Jisung play the guitar while Minho and Woojin talked among themselves, quietly discussing bunting arrangements and fairylights.

It was nice, he thought, that everyone was pitching in to make this a memorable evening for Changbin and Felix. Not that it was uncommon for all of them to meet up these days; it had been strange at first, to meet the other angels and the people they had decided to stay for, but gradually they had all grown used to each other, the angels especially delighting in seeing one another again after such tumultuous water had passed under the bridge for all of them.

Minho had been the first to return to Woojin, knocking on his and Chan’s window late at night three years ago, excited to discuss a human he had given his heart to. The sight of his old friend had silenced him completely; to see Woojin standing in the warm electric light, no wings shadowing his shoulders, had him at a complete loss for words. Chan had understood why. It must have been strange, to see someone he’d known for so long changed so utterly.

He pushed away a faint wisp of guilt at the thought. Woojin had chosen to stay with him. Chan had nothing to feel guilty for there. He was more certain of that these days.

Minho had certainly gotten used to it quickly, after insisting that Woojin remove his shirt so that he could see the remnants of bone still left in his back. Chan had sat there quietly throughout the whole encounter, unsure of what to say until Minho had turned on him with a critical eye.

"So," he’d said eventually. "You’re the one he made a soul for."

"I am," Chan had confirmed somewhat nervously, expecting some kind of telling-off.

But Minho had just broken into a smile, leaning unexpectedly close to look into Chan’s eyes as though he could see Woojin’s handiwork there. "Good to meet you properly. I’m glad you’re taking good care of him."

"I think it’s the other way around," Chan had said, and Woojin had laughed softly, the sound of it warming Chan’s chest.

It had been Jisung after that, Chan and Woojin making the trip across the city to visit him and Minho in their little flat. He’d seemed happy to meet Chan, and Chan couldn’t help but agree; it was a strange situation, to be in love with someone not of this world, and it was reassuring to know that there were others.

Barely two months later, Felix had burst into the shop with wide eyes, babbling excitedly that a friend of his had confessed to knowing two more angels. Their names were Hyunjin and Seungmin, he’d said, and it had taken Chan a moment longer than Woojin to make the connection. Jeongin, he realised. Felix’s friend was  _ Jeongin _ .

That introduction had been considerably less warm than Minho’s. Both Seungmin and Hyunjin seemed to constantly want to stand between Jeongin and Chan, even when Hyunjin had burst into tears at the sight of Woojin, pulling him into a desperate, crushing hug. They had seen the direct aftermath of his actions before Woojin made him a soul, he supposed. They knew what it had done to Jeongin. The scars it had left.

He and Jeongin had… talked. Despite Jeongin saying that he forgave Chan when he first came into his shop, there was still a lot to say. A lot to make right.

It had been resolved, in the end, by Chan offering to give Jeongin lessons in magic. He had some natural talent, according to Seungmin, and Chan was still in the process of helping him grow it. After two and a half years, he was almost at Chan’s level, and Chan had offered him a permanent job at the shop once he finished his degree. Jeongin had happily accepted, and Hyunjin and Seungmin both seemed almost impossibly proud of the progress he’d managed to make.  _ Our little witch,  _ Seungmin had taken to calling him, and Jeongin would shake his head and laugh every time.

"Hey!" Chan heard Jeongin call from the other side of the park, as though summoned by Chan’s memories of him. "Sorry we’re late. Hyunjin couldn’t get his makeup right."

"Because you hid my favourite eyeshadow!"

"He didn’t  _ hide it _ ," Seungmin insisted. "He moved it slightly out of the way so that he and I actually had some space on the bathroom shelf."

Chan shared a slight smile with Jisung; despite the softness those three often shared, it still wasn’t uncommon to hear them bickering good-naturedly, mostly at Hyunjin’s expense. Apparently it was often worse when Minho was added into the equation, leaving Jisung as Hyunjin’s only defence against the affectionate teasing when the five of them met up.

"You’re just easy to tease," Chan had heard Jeongin tell him once, and Hyunjin had pouted in mock-upset until Jeongin had pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"You’re not late," Woojin told them. "Changbin and Felix aren’t supposed to be here for another few minutes anyway. Hyunjin, Minho and I need your height; can you get this bunting over that branch?"

"I can try," Hyunjin agreed, reaching up on tip-toes to reach the branch Minho was pointing to. "This would be a good deal easier if any of us still had wings."

"Yeah, well, that’s a decision long gone," Minho remarked, reaching around to scratch at the space between the juts of bone on his back.

"Yup," Jisung called over to him. "You’re stuck with me now."

"Wouldn’t have it any other way," Minho called back with a smile, and Chan watched Jisung’s cheeks turn very slightly pink. It had been a hard-won battle, he knew, for Jisung to accept that Minho wanted to stay with him. But Minho had been gentle, and patient, and persistent in his strange, bright way, and Jisung had managed to save up enough money to return to therapy, and his doubts had faded.

"No, it’s nice," he had replied when Woojin had made a gentle joke that Minho perhaps wasn’t the easiest person to live with sometimes. "It’s nice to live with someone who loves me."

Beside them on the grass, Jisung’s phone buzzed. He put down the guitar to check it, calling out to the others. "Changbin says that they’re on their way! Do you guys need Chan and I to do anything?"

"I think we’re done," Woojin told him. "We just need to check that the lights are working."

"On it," Seungmin called, ignoring Jeongin’s protests at the fact that he was using Seungmin’s legs as a pillow. "I’ll sit back down in a minute, go bother Hyunjin for cuddles."

Jeongin did just that, tugging Hyunjin down by the hand to sit beside him. Hyunjin waved slightly at Chan and Jisung as he did so, smiling as Jeongin settled down with his head in his lap. His eyelids were decorated with a beautiful summer shade of sapphire blue, little gems in the corners sparkling when the glow of the fairylights hit them. Chan wasn’t exactly sure what had led Hyunjin to discover makeup, but he certainly had a talent for it.

"It’s all working," Woojin said, stepping back to see the full effect. He looked beautiful in the glow of them, smiling slightly at the product of all their hard work, and Chan just watched him for a moment, taking in the sight. He’d been thinking, ever since Changbin had asked him for advice on proposing to Felix, about his and Woojin’s future. About how their hands would look side by side, matching gold bands on their fourth fingers. Perhaps he’d wait until after Felix and Changbin’s wedding, though.

"Guys?" he heard a familiar deep voice call. "Oh my god, did you do all this for us?"

"Surprise!" Jeongin shouted, sitting up so that he could watch Changbin and Felix approach. Both of them looked to be in complete awe of the scene before them, picnic baskets and bottles of champagne illuminated by the carefully-strung lights.

"Congratulations," Chan said as Felix drew closer. "We knew neither of you wanted a massive party that you’d have to invite all your relatives to, but we thought it would be nice to do  _ something _ ."

"Yeah, you guys are getting married," Jisung pointed out. "We had to celebrate it somehow. Come on, show me the engagement rings."

Changbin laughed as he held out his hand for Jisung to see, the delicate feathers engraved into the gold glinting in the evening light.

"Oh, that’s so pretty," Jisung murmured. "In honour of the others?"

"Yeah," Changbin agreed. "We would never have met without you guys, so… we match now."

Chan saw Woojin reach up and touch the spot just below his collarbone where Chan knew his little tattoo rested. After Minho had finally Fallen, the angels had agreed that they wanted something to commemorate their shared history, and Changbin had offered a solution; a tattoo of a feather, small and subtle, to remind them of their wings. Woojin had chosen his collarbone, Minho the back of his shoulder, and Hyunjin and Seungmin had decided to mirror one another, their feathers resting on their left and right ankles respectively. It was a nice touch, Chan thought, to include the design on his and Felix’s rings.

"Champagne or food first?" Felix asked Changbin, leaning close to rest his head on his shoulder for a moment.

"Oh, definitely champagne," Changbin replied, and Felix’s smile shone brighter than every light they’d strung.

The first cork was popped with a very little ceremony, Hyunjin and Jeongin clinging onto Seungmin to stop him making good on his threats to shake up the bottles, Felix dragging Changbin a few feet away to avoid anyone getting soaked in champagne.

"To us," Changbin toasted once all the glasses were poured, lifting his glass up to tap it gently against Felix’s.

"To us," Felix agreed, and Chan smiled as he took a sip of his champagne, his glass distorting the vision of Changbin pressing a bubble-sweet kiss to Felix’s lips. He looked around as he lowered it, taking in the sight of his friends caught in the late summer gold of the evening. Three years had changed a great deal; never again would he see vast wings silhouetted against the light, feathers as long as his forearm shining faintly. But each of the angels had chosen this. Had chosen to Fall, to walk as their lovers did, to leave behind everything they knew for the sake of the humans they had come to adore. It had been an easy decision for none of them, Chan knew, but he was glad that they’d made it.

"Are you ok?" Woojin asked close to his ear, one arm wrapping gently around his waist. "You’re drifting off."

"I’m just happy," Chan told him, and he felt Woojin press a soft kiss to his temple.

"I think we all are," Woojin replied, and as Chan looked around at their little party; the pale gold of the champagne, and the last of the summer flowers, and the lights in the trees shining in his friends' eyes; he decided that Woojin was right.

_ Happy _ , he thought to himself.

_ We’re happy _ .   


**Author's Note:**

> If you want to see more of my work, and some of the thought processes behind it, come and say hi on my shiny new (very green) tumblr! You can find me under nettlestingsoup just like you can here, and I'll be posting about stray kids, writing, and maybe the odd snippet of unpublished AUs or hints as to what I'll be posting next. I hope to see you there! <3


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